Keep right, idiot!: More rocks!

13th June. Bluff, UT to Moab, UT

Poor pic of Balancing Rock, Arches NP, UT

Today turned out to be not so much fun. For whatever reason, I only got about 2 hours sleep and it was going to be another hot day - mid-30's by lunch and people everywhere. So you can imagine how happy I was :)

It was a short trip from Bluff to Moab - only 130 miles or so. Arches National Park is only 10 mins out of Moab, so off I went. As usual, the visitor centre had a tonne of info about the area and how the rock formations were shaped by wind and weather. On the way into the centre, I passed a bloke on crutches with one leg covered in plaster, the other in bandages. He made a comment to me, and his wife, "Ahh, proper motorcycle pants - that would've been smart" :)

Riding through the park was another exercise in slow cooking. There were, again, a tonne of people everywhere with bumper to bumper traffic in some places. I have to remember never to visit the US in June/July again - especially the parks anyway - they're just way too busy for my liking.

After a quick trip around the easily accessible viewing areas - great views by the way - I headed back to town, hoping to be able to check in to my hotel to get a shower and even a quick nap. I was too early, and had to wait another 1.5 hours, so I went to the local tourist info to see what I could see. I didn't see much. I ended up laying down on a bench in front of the centre and closed my eyes 'for just a sec'. I woke up about 30-40 mins later.

After checking into the hotel and having a shower, I went for a walk into town which was a km or so. I have never seen so many Jeeps in one place. There were Cherokees, Grand Cherokees, Wranglers, Rubicons. Most were modified in some way. There were also a heap of side-by-sides off-road vehicles which can be registered to drive on the road. A few places in town were hiring them. It would've been good to stay here for a few days so that I could hire one of these and explore some of the off-road parks around the place. It was strange to see the contrast between the Harley rides (no helmets and minimal safety gear) and others such as adventure bike riders, and dirt-bike riders (full safety gear). This is definitely an outdoor persons dream place - mountain biking, rock climbing, white water rafting/kayaking, dirtbikes, camping, hiking - it's all here.